Once
again the dawn chorus kicked in early, and by 6am we were all
assembled in the dining area relatively bright-eyed and
bushy-tailed. This time, Keennan headed out in the opposite
direction with the lagoon to our left. He had got wind of a pair of
lions that were courting on the opposite banks of the lagoon and
hoped to be able to take us right up to them. As we walked, I was
struck once more at the amount of information that Keennan and James
have to process as they go along. They're constantly checking the
wind direction, noticing fresh tracks on the ground, monitoring the
bushes and trees for movements and all the time making sure we see
and understand as much as possible of what is going on around us. A
difficult job, brilliantly done.
Not that everything in
the bush is hairy and scary, mind. Most people have heard of
Africa's Big Five, but did you know that there is also a 'little'
Big Five of smaller animals as well, plus a 'green' (vegetation) Big
Five too? As we walked, Steve puzzled over all the saucer-shaped
indentations under the sausage trees. "Ant Lions" Keennan
informed us. "Watch this". Bending down he took a tiny
twig and sent a few grains of sand tumbling into the centre of one
of the saucers. Instantly a pale, peculiar-looking ant popped up and
cast about furiously in expectation of a meal falling into his pit.
Keennan picked him up to show us and then put him back on a smooth
patch of ground where he immediately started burrowing out a new pit
- no peace for the wicked.
A little while
afterwards, we stopped for an icy OJ and some fresh apple and bran
muffins. Sitting in the shade of a sausage tree in the midst of a
vast plain with a few giraffe peacefully grazing away to our left,
Steve heaved a huge sigh of satisfaction. "D'you know, this is
the fourth safari we've been on in as many countries and this is the
only time I have ever felt properly 'away from it all'. This is
amazing." Shana seconded him, "Yeah, when we were in
Kenya, everytime an animal appeared, there always seemed to be about
ten other vehicles stopping to look too. The animals got so fed up,
they just hid and some mornings you'd see nothing at all. This, on
the other hand, this is how we always imagined a safari would be.
It's perfect" she said, looking round with a blissful
expression on her face. "Just perfect."
And the perfection
continued. Once we started walking, it was only a few minutes before
we came back to the river again. Following Keennan's lead, we all
trod cautiously down to the bank, and there, on the other side of
the river, were the lions we had been seeking. We were downwind so
they didn't catch our scent, but love was clearly in the air this
morning and I doubt if they would have bothered about us anyway.
Feeling slightly voyeuristic, we watched them for fifteen minutes
before they slouched off into the trees to try a new position.
Keennan told us that they would probably carry on mating for a
further 72 hours - guess that's why lions are the Kings of the
Jungle!
Back at Chamilandu,
Andy had arrived to meet the new guests and bring in some supplies
for Debbie. Once again, the afternoon was passed lazily by the river
before we all climbed into the vehicle and headed off for sundowners
at Keennan's favourite spot. Keennan and Debbie produced dinky
little sachets of gin for our sundowners - terribly practical these
safari-types - and we watched the churning mass of hippos squabbling
in the river below. Beady-eyed crocs sunned themselves on the sand
banks and the ugly, vulture-like Marabou storks loitered around in
hopes of a little action. As the sun edged over the horizon, it was
time to head for home for Debbie's delicious char-grilled steaks and
a good nights sleep before we struck out for our new camp tomorrow.
Shana was right - Chamilandu was 'just perfect' and I had the
feeling that Chendeni was going to be just as good.
.
